What is "hylotheism"

Hylotheism \Hy"lo*the*ism\, n. [Gr. ? wood, matter + ? God.] The doctrine of belief that matter is God, or that there is no God except matter and the universe; pantheism. See Materialism.

n. 1 Theory equating matter with God or merging one into the other (see pantheism). 2 Doctrine of belief that matter is God, or that there is no God except matter and the universe (see materialism).

Hylotheism (from Gk. hyle, 'matter' and theos, 'God') is the belief that matter is God, or that there is no God except matter and the Universe. It is distinct from materialism in that the hylotheist sees the material Universe as God and distinguished from other forms of theism in that the hylotheist does not believe in a supernatural or dualistic Universe. According to this doctrine, there is no special distinction between matter and other constituents of the Universe. The terms persist simply because the material Universe remains a useful distinction from the immaterial or supernatural. Hylotheism is a form of Pantheism.

Hylotheism posits there is no truth external to the observable Universe, no morality superior to it, and no afterlife or spirit world enterable from it, save that such be discernible from within it. According to this belief, there is a God, and it is the sum of all actions over the span of the Universe; we are all parts of God, and God is what we collectively create.

In Lutheran theology, hylotheisem is the theory equating matter with God or merging one into the other.